Key to the Gate
by nhaer042
Summary: A year after the events of CoS, Winry adopts a young boy named Alan. As the young boy grows up all seems, peaceful but a new threat lies in the shadows waiting to make its move.
1. Chapter 1

My second FMA fanfic. Unlike my other one, this takes place after CoS. I really hope you all enjoy and feel free to leave comments and criticism.

* * *

Key to the Gate

_"Colonel wait!" cried Winry as she ran up to Mustang. Roy looked over his shoulder at her, his hand raised and ready to snap his fingers to destroy the Gate._

_"Winry, stay back!" shouted Roy. Winry stopped short a few feet from him._

_"Ed and Al are still on the other side! You can't-"_

_"I know they are!" shouted Roy. "This is the plan. They destroy their side and I destroy ours."_

_"Colonel, don't do this! They'll be trapped!" Roy turned his gaze back to the Gate._

_"I know," said Roy. He snapped his fingers sending the Gate ablaze. "I'm sorry," he whispered. Winry fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face. Again. She had lost them again. . ._

* * *

Winry woke up with a start as the train jolted a bit. She looked around. Most of the other passengers were asleep. She looked out the window at the passing landscape and up at the starry night sky. Nights like this made her wonder if Ed and Al could see the same stars she could from wherever the Gate had taken them off to. She sighed at her sentimentality. Even a whole year later, she still couldn't forget them. A part of her wondered if they felt the same way. She leaned back in her seat and tried to go back to sleep. Anything to push the memories away.

* * *

The train arrived at Central early the next morning. As Winry stepped out of the train, she began to wonder if coming to Central was even a good idea. Recently, both Pinako and Den had both passed away. That on top of the loss of her two best friends made Risembool full of too many painful memories. She thought she'd go to central to try and forget. Upon arriving, however, she realized Central was just a painful a place to be.

"Winry!" shouted a voice. Winry looked up and scanned the crowd for the one who was calling her. She saw a hand waving and a small woman pushing her way through the crowd. Suddenly, Winry found herself in a tight embrace.

"Sheska?" asked Winry. Sheska pulled back so her friend could see her face and smiled.

"It's been too long, Winry. I'm so glad you decided to visit."

"Yeah, I just need some time away." Sheska nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, I'm sorry to hear about you grandmother." It was quiet for a moment as the two women just stood there. "Well," Sheska spoke up, "we shouldn't just stand around all day. C'mon let's go drop your things off at my place and go grab a bite to eat. That sound good?" Winry smiled weakly.

"That sounds great."

* * *

Later, Winry said she wanted to visit the Hughes. Sheska offered to go with her but Winry said this was something she wanted to do alone. Sheska understood and promised to meet up with Winry later. Now Winry found herself standing outside the door of the Hughes' apartment. She knocked on the door and waited for a response.

"Coming," came a voice form the other side of the door. The door opened revealing a young girl with brown shoulder length hair standing at half Winry's height. "Winry!" greeted the little girl excitedly giving her a hug.

"Hey, Elecia," Winry greeted happily. She knelt down and returned the hug. She pulled away to look at her surrogate sister. "Look how much you've grown. How old are you now?"

"Seven," answered Elecia.

"Wow."

"Who's at the door, Elecia?" Winry looked up and saw Gracia Hughes standing in the doorway. "Winry? Is that you?" Winry stood up and nodded.

"Hello, Mrs. Hughes. I just wanted to stop by and say 'Hi.' I hope I'm not intruding."

"Of course not, don't be ridiculous," said Gracia. "Please come in."

"Thank you," said Winry. She stepped into the apartment and sat down on the couch. Elecia climbed onto the couch next to her while Gracia sat in a chair across from her.

"So how have you-" Gracia started to say when the three of them heard the sound of coughing from the other room. "I'm sorry; could you excuse me for a moment?"

"Sure," said Winry. Gracia stepped out of the room for a moment. "You two have a friend staying over?"

"Sorta," said Elecia. Gracia came back into the room holding a small sleeping black-haired boy.

"I didn't know you had another child," said Winry.

"Oh, he isn't mine," said Gracia. "His name's Alan. His parents died in a fire recently. They were good friends of General Mustang. He asked me to watch him while he finds a home for him."

"I didn't know Mustang got his status as Brigadier General back."

"He's been working very hard." Winry nodded.

"Has there been any luck in finding him a home yet?" asked Winry. Gracia shook her head.

"So what brings you here?" asked Gracia.

"My grandmother and dog passed away recently. I was feeling alone and hurt so I came to Central hoping I could confide in friends." Gracia gave her one of those motherly smiles.

"We're glad you stopped by. Elecia has missed her big sister."

"We'll cheer you up!" said Elecia confidently. Winry smiled and patted her head. She looked at the young boy in Gracia's arms. Her heart went out to him.

"How old is he?" askd Winry.

"Three. His parents died making sure he got out okay."

"He's so young," said Winry. "Would you mind if I hold him?"

"Of course," said Gracia. She handed Alan to Winry who tried to hold him gently. Unfortunately, she accidentally woke him up. He opened his eyes revealing bright green eyes.

"Hello there," asked Winry.

"Hello," said the boy tiredly. "Who are you?"

"A friend of Miss Hughes."

"Oh. I'm Alan."

"Yes, I know. Very nice to meet you." Alan smiled then started coughing. Gracia walked over to him with an inhaler. She helped him use it properly. He coughed a couple more times before his breathing steadied. "Are you okay?" asked Winry. Alan nodded.

"He has asthma," explained Gracia. "The winter weather isn't helping him much." Winry nodded and looked at Alan who seemed to be going back to sleep. She felt sympathy for the poor boy. She knew what it was like to grow up without parents. She also knew what it was like to be alone. Suddenly, she had the most bizarre idea of her life.

"I could take him," Winry offered.

"What?" asked Gracia.

"I could take him," she repeated. "He needs a home. I know what he's going through or at least what he will go through. I think I could help him."

"Are you sure?" asked Gracia. "It's a large responsibility."

"I know." Gracia smiled as she watched Winry hold the sleeping boy.

"Well, if you're sure. But you'll have to let the general know. He's the one who's in charge of finding him a home."

Winry tensed up a bit. She and Mustang had never been on easy terms. He was the one who got Ed and Al sucked into military life, killed her parents, and took away any chance for the Elric brothers to ever return home. It would suffice to say he wasn't her favorite person. She looked at Alan and smiled as he slept soundly. If a conversation was all it would take to adopt Alan than she figured she could do that.

* * *

Winry walked through the halls of Central Command to Mustang's office. She was feeling terribly nervous about this, but she was committed. No way was she going to back down. She reached Mustang's office and knocked on the door. It was answered by Riza Hawkeye.

"Miss Rockbell?" asked Winry.

"Hello, Miss Riza. I came to speak with the Brigadier General about Alan."

"I see," said Riza. "Well do please come in." Winry nodded and stepped in. She saw the rest of Mustang's loyal team who all looked up and smiled at her.

"Well look who dropped by," said Havoc.

"How are you Miss Rockbell," asked Feury.

"Fine, I just need to speak with the General."

"Just when he actually started his paperwork," joked Breda.

"I'll do it later," said Mustang as he stood up from his desk and gestured towards a seat across the desk.

"Thank you," said Winry as she sat down. Roy nodded and sat as well.

"What brings you by?" he asked.

"I know about Alan. I-I want to adopt him." Roy's eyes widened.

"Really?"

"I know this seems weird, but I think it would be good for both of us. We just lost what family we had left. Both of us are alone and I think we could help each other. Plus I know what it's like to grow up without parents. I at least had my grandmother but, from what Mrs. Hughes told me, he has no one."

"No, he doesn't. He has no other family and his parent's never left any record of where they wanted him to be taken if they passed. That's why I took it on myself to do so."

"No child should have to grow up alone."

"I agree," said Roy. He was silent as he thought over Winry's offer. "Alright then, Miss Rockbell. You're old enough to make your own choices. If you're willing to adopt Alan then I won't stand in your way."

"Thank you, General," said Winry feeling greatly relieved. Mustang nodded.

"I'm going to have to ask you to remain in Central while I get this all sorted out."

"Of course."

"Well, Miss Rockbell, congratulations. Good luck."

* * *

Winry smiled as she watched Alan standing in the seat across from her staring out the window of the train. She couldn't believe that she was actually heading home with a son. With a family. She certainly didn't expect this to happen.

"How much longer 'til we get there?" asked Alan.

"About an hour," answered Winry. Alan sat down in his seat and looked at her.

"So, um, since you adopted me, am I your son now?"

"Yes," answered Winry. She figured he must be just as overwhelmed as she was.

"So then would it be okay if I called you 'Mom' then?" he asked. Winry was taken aback. She wasn't sure how comfortable Alan would be with a new mother.

"Uh, yeah, of course." She smiled at him. "I'd love it you wanted to call me that." Alan smiled back at her and moved from his seat to sit next to her. He leaned his head on her arm.

"Mom?" he asked. It sounded like he felt a little awkward for him to say it.

"Yeah?"

"What's Risembool like?" Winry thought for a moment for an apt way to describe her home.

"It's quiet and peaceful. Lots of hills and woods. There are lakes and streams too. It's really nice in the summer. The people are all very kind and friendly."

"It sounds nice," said Alan.

"It is. I think you'll like it." Alan nodded.

"Mom." He sounded more comfortable saying it now.

"Yes?"

"Thank you for taking care of me." Winry felt her eyes starting to tear up.

"You're welcome."

* * *

Thank you for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

Key to the Gate

Chapter 2

Winry worked diligently on an automail leg. She was installing the hydraulics when she noticed it seemed oddly quiet. Usually she could hear Alan playing outside with his friends or downstairs with his toy cars. Sometimes he even wanted to help her with automail much to her delight. But today, there was nothing and it was kind of worrying her. She stood up from her stool and looked out the window of her workshop. She didn't see him there. Next, she looked downstairs in the living room. Alan wasn't there either. Finally, she checked upstairs in his room. He wasn't even in there.

"Alan, wear are you, honey?" called Winry.

"In here, Mom," replied Alan. Winry followed the sound of his voice to one of the spare rooms. The one Ed used to stay in actually. She opened the door and saw Alan reading Ed's old journal that he accidentally left behind. "Hi, Mom!" the seven-year-old greeted happily.

"Hey, there," Winry greeted back. She walked into the room and sat across from him. "What are you reading?"

"A book I found on the shelf the bed."

"Why are in you in here in the first place?"

"I was bored. I went around the house looking for something to do."

"You could help me with automail if you want too, hon," offered Winry.

"Okay, but I kind of want to keep reading. This alchemy stuff is pretty cool."

"Oh, well, um," said Winry nervously. She wasn't sure if she felt comfortable with her son wanting to learn alchemy.

"Are you okay, Mom?" asked Alan.

"Well, I'm just not sure about this."

"Why not?"

"I had two friends who were alchemists. It caused them a lot of trouble. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you because of alchemy."

"What if I promise to be really, really careful?" asked Alan. Winry sighed. She wasn't sure if Alan quite understood what she was saying.

"I-I'm just not sure if it's a good idea."

"C'mon, Mom, please?" he asked giving her large puppy dog eyes. "I promise I'll stop if you think it's getting too bad." Winry found her resolve starting to wave. Those puppy dog eyes were her one truly debilitating weakness. Still, she wasn't entirely sure, but on the other hand, he did say he would stop if she asked him to.

"Well. . .okay, fine," she said giving in.

"Cool, thanks!" said Alan giving her a big hug. Winry smiled at how happy her son was and desperately hoped this wouldn't come back to haunt her. "So do you know anything about alchemy?" asked Alan.

"No, it was never really my thing," answered Winry. Alan looked a bit upset. He picked the journal back up and looked through the pages.

"So, I guess this is all I have, huh?"

"I'll get you an alchemy book next time we're in town, okay?" offered Winry.

"Okay. Can we get new automail catalogs too?"

Sure," said Winry as she pulled him into another hug. It felt good to know she hadn't lost her Little Gearhead.

* * *

Over the next month, Alan diligently studied alchemy. Winry was surprised at how quick he was catching on. She was somewhere between proud and terrified. Still, he wasn't studying anything dangerous and he wasn't bringing any harm to himself so she let him work.

One day she was downstairs in the living room reading a new automail catalog. Again, Alan was being unusually quiet.

"Hey, Alan, where are you?" she called.

"Upstairs," he answered.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing." Winry shook her head. 'Nothing' of course meant he was doing something. She went upstairs to his room and found the door shut and locked.

"Alan?" she asked knocking on the door. "What are you doing in there?"

"Just a minute. I'm not ready yet." Winry stood by the door and waited. _What could that little scamp be up to?_ Finally, the door opened and Alan poked his head out. He had a wide grin on his face "Okay, you can come in now," he told her. Winry stepped into the room and saw a piece of paper in the middle of the floor with a transmutation circle on it.

"You're first transmutation?" she asked. Alan nodded his head in excitement.

"Yeah! You want to see it?" he asked. Winry chuckled.

"Of course. Go for it," she told him. Alan nodded again and knelt by the paper. He put his hands on it causing brief little sparks of electricity. The paper then formed into an origami bird. Alan picked it up and gave it to Winry.

"For you!" he told her. Winry took it and looked at it. "It's not very good though, is it?" The bird was a little misshapen. The wings were a bit crooked and there were a couple of wrinkles in it but overall it wasn't bad. Winry smiled and patted her son's head.

"I love it," she told him. "You're quite talented."

"Really?" he asked in disbelief.

"Definitely." Alan's smiled grew even bigger. The two were then interrupted by a knock on the door downstairs. "I wonder who that could be." She went downstairs and opened the door revealing Roy Mustang. "General, how are you?"

"Hello, Winry. I'm sorry to intrude but I wanted to stop by and give Alan his present early."

"Oh, of course." Winry let him in and mentally slapped herself for almost forgetting her own son's upcoming birthday. She added it to the top of her mental 'To Do' list.

"Uncle Roy!" shouted Alan excitedly when he came downstairs. He hugged his surrogate uncle happily.

"Hey, Alan," greeted Roy. "I came by to give you something." He pulled a wrapped rectangular shaped object from his coat and handed it to Alan who took it happily.

"Thanks. Hey, you wanna see what I transmutated?" asked Alan.

"Transmutated?" Roy repeated. Alan nodded.

"Uh-huh," answered Alan. "Show him, Mom." Winry walked up to Roy and handed him the origami bird Alan transmuted. Roy took it carefully and examined it closely.

"This isn't half bad. You got some potential. Do you have a teacher?"

"There aren't any alchemists who can train him here in Risembool."

"I see," said Mustang. He rubbed his chin and seemed to be in deep thought. "I have a suggestion."

"What is it?" asked Alan.

"I was thinking I could get you two a place in Central and I could train him there. I might even convince Armstrong to help. He'd love a student."

"Move away?" asked Winry. "Are you serious?"

"It's only a suggestion."

"You wouldn't turn him into a dog of the military will you?" asked Winry accusingly.

"I only want to help him learn. What he does with what I teach him would be his choice."

"And what would I do?"

"Your orders are mostly deliveries anyway aren't they? Not like you meet them in person too much. If anything you might be closer to some customers."

"Can we go, Mom?" asked Alan. "It sounds cool!"

"I-I dunno," said Winry. She looked at Alan who was practically begging her with his eyes. He was obviously okay with moving if it meant learning more alchemy and alchemist did have a point about it not affecting her business. "What about-"

"I can easily get him into any school in Central," said Mustang. Alan groaned when he heard the word school. Winry put a hand on his head.

"Well. . .I don't see a reason not to."

"Yay!" cried Alan excitedly.

"I'll make living arrangements for you. I'll call you when you're ready." And with that, Roy took his leave. Winry looked down at Alan who was jittery with excitement.

"Well, we should probably get ready to move then," said Winry.

"Okay," said Alan. He ran up the stairs to his room and looked around at what he was going to pack.

_I'm going to become an alchemist! This is going to be awesome._


	3. Chapter 3

Here's chapter 3. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 3

Winry stepped off the train holding on to Alan so he wouldn't bolt off. She looked around the train station and found a familiar bald man.

"Miss Rockbell!" greeted Armstrong. He approached the two waving as he did.

"Major, it's good to see you again," said Winry.

"It's actually Colonel now," said Armstrong proudly.

"Oh, congratulations," complimented Winry.

"Who's the tall guy, Mom?" asked Alan staring up at Armstrong.

"Alan, don't be rude."

"It's no trouble, Winry. I take it as a compliment. A pleasure to meet you," said Armstrong kneeling down in front of Alan. He reached out a hand to the young boy.

"Hello," said Alan taking the man's hand and shaking it. "I think Uncle Roy mentioned you."

"Yes, he has asked if I would mind teaching you alchemy. But before that, the General has asked me to escort you to his office."

"What about our things?"

"Mustang is going to see to that. You need not worry."

"Alright then. Lead the way."

* * *

"Uncle Roy!" shouted Alan as he ran up to Roy's desk.

"Hey, Alan," greeted Roy as he let Alan sit in his lap.

"Hey look, someone who actually likes you, sir," joked Havoc.

"Very funny, Havoc," said Mustang slightly irritated. Winry took a seat across from Mustang.

"Is there a reason you wanted to see us, Roy?" asked Winry. It still felt odd for her to call him by his first name.

"Yes, I wanted to inform you two that arrangements for Alan's schooling have been made. Also, I managed to find an old building near your place that you could perhaps use for an automail shop, Winry. It needed some work but it should be ready soon."

"You really don't have to go through all of this trouble," said Winry.

"It's no trouble at all. I'm glad to," said Roy simply. Winry was about to say something but Mustang put up his hand to stop her. "Hawkeye will escort you to your new home. I'd take you myself but she's insisting I get my paperwork done," he said with mild annoyance.

"Alright. Thank you for everything, Roy," said Winry. Roy smiled softly and nodded.

"Bye, Uncle Roy," said Alan as he climbed off Roy's lap and followed his mother out of the room.

"See you later, kid."

* * *

Winry, Alan, and Hawkeye entered the door of the Rockbell's new apartment. It was in the same building as the Hughes much to Winry's delight. Unpacked boxes were stacked in all the rooms and the furniture was already set up.

"Do you need anything moved or rearranged?" asked Hawkeye.

"No, no, please you've all already done so much. I can take things from here," said Winry.

"Alright," said Riza.

"Um, Miss Riza, er, um, Mrs. Riza," Winry had forgotten that Roy and Riza had gotten married. Unofficially, of course, due to the no fraternization rules of the military. Winry and Alan were two of the few people who actually knew about it.

"Yes?" asked Riza.

"Why is Roy going through all of this trouble? He doesn't owe me any favors." Riza smiled softly.

"It's a matter of integrity with him," she explained. "While you may not think he does, Roy believes he owes a lot of people. He owes it to Alan's deceased parent's to watch over him when he can, he feels he owes it to the Elric brothers to keep an eye on the last person alive that they considered family, and he feels he owes it to you personally for what he did to your parents." Winry tensed up a bit at the mention of her parents.

"I haven't held that against him for a long time," said Winry.

"I know. He knows too but it still bothers him. A lot of things do. This is just his way of coping I suppose."

"That's quite a burden."

"Yes, but trust me he's starting to put things behind him. Don't worry about him."

"Alright. Thank you both for everything." Riza nodded.

"Anytime, Miss. Rockbell. Take care." She left Winry and Alan alone to adjust to their new home.

"Okay, Alan, time to unpack," said Winry as she looked around the room. Alan wasn't there. She searched the apartment until she found him in the master bedroom.

"Dibs!" claimed Alan. Winry laughed.

"Yeah, not likely."

* * *

"You have your inhaler?" asked Winry. She was kneeling in front of her son outside of Central Elementary.

"Yep," answered Alan. He was getting a little annoyed with how stressed his mom was getting.

"Got your lunch?"

"Yep," said Alan holding up his lunchbox.

"Pencils?"

"Yes."

"Books?"

"Can I go in now?" asked Alan.

"Oh, let me enjoy the moment," said Winry as she looked her son over. "It's your first day and I want to make sure everything goes well."

"I'll be fine, Mom," said Alan. Winry smiled at her son's confidence. She remembered how shy and dependent he used to be on her.

"You need to stop growing up so fast." She leaned forward to kiss him on the head.

"Mooom!" protested Alan.

"Alan William Rockbell, I am your mother and I preserve the right to hug and kiss you whenever I choose whether it's in public or not."

"Yes, ma'am," said Alan straightening up immediately. Winry gave him a tight hug and kissed him on the forehead.

"Have a good day, sweetie," said Winry.

"Bye, Mom," said Alan. He went into the school building and looked at the piece of paper his mom wrote his class down on. He walked down the hall to the room when two bigger boys stepped in front of him.

"Lookie here, Bob," said the one boy. A redhead with freckles all over his face.

"New kid," said Bob a boy with brown hair and large gap between his incisors. "Give your mommy a nice hug?" teased Bob. Alan's face went a little red.

"C-can I just go to my classroom?" asked Alan.

"Looks like we got us a teacher's pet, Mike," said Bob to the red head. He walked forward and grabbed Alan by the shirt. "What have you got in the lunchbox?"

"My lunch," said Alan matter-of-factly. Bob threw him onto the ground.

"Don't play dumb," said Mike.

"But you asked-"

"Shut up!" demanded Bob. He bent down to grab Alan's lunchbox but Alan snatched it away. "Hey! Mommy not teach you how to share?"

"Leave him alone you two!" came a new voice. Alan looked over his shoulder to see a blond haired girl with green eyes approach them."

"What are you going to do if we don't, Kaylee?" asked Mike.

"My brother will beat you up!"

"Oh, really?" asked Bob.

"Really," said a voice behind the two bullies. They both slowly looked over their shoulder to see a taller blond haired boy with green eyes glaring at them.

"Um, hi Joel," said Bob.

"Beat it!" shouted Joel. Both boys did as they were told and ran off. Joel helped Alan up off the ground.

"Sorry, about them," said Kaylee as she walked up to them. "They can be real jerks sometimes."

"Yeah," said Alan.

"My name's Kaylee and this is my big brother, Joel," said Kaylee pointing at Joel who just nodded at Alan. "What's your name?"

"Alan Rockbell."

"Pleased to meet you. Who's class are you in?"

"Mrs. Wilson's," replied Alan handing her the piece of paper.

"Oh, then we're in the same class. C'mon I'll show you there. Mrs. Wilson's really nice."

"Okay," said Alan as he followed her.

"Bye, Joel," said Kaylee.

"See ya," said Joel as he left for his own class. Alan and Kaylee got to their class only to find Bob and Mike were also in that class much to Alan's horror.

"Oh, you must be Mr. Rockbell," said a sweet elderly lady as she bent down in front of the two boys.

"Y-yes, ma'am," said Alan.

"No need to be so shy, honey," said Mrs. Wilson. "There's a seat right over here for you." She led Alan to a seat in the second row that was thankfully across the room from the two bullies. Kaylee was in the seat to his left.

"Trsut me, Alan you'll like it here," said Kaylee.

"Thanks," said Alan hopefully.

* * *

Alan sat on the front steps on the school with Kaylee and Joel. The day went surprisingly well after everything was all said and done. Mike and Bob didn't give him any trouble. Every time they even looked at him wrong, Kaylee or Joel would be around to make them back off. Alan was glad he had found two good friends on his first day.

"So you're not taking the bus either?" asked Kaylee.

"No, my mom is kinda paranoid and wants to be the one to drive me to from school and home. Who are you two waiting on?"

"Our uncle,"Joel. Both kids seemed mildly unhappy at the mention of him.

"What's wrong with your uncle?"

"What isn't?" asked Joel. Kaylee elbowed him the arm.

"There's nothing wrong with him but he's. . .eccentric."

"To put it lightly," said Joel. A car then drove up and a tall man with a single curly piece of blond hair and busy mustache stepped out.

"Kaylee! Joel! I have come to pick you up from school!" he announced loudly.

"Armstrong?" asked Alan.

"Hi, Uncle Alex," said Kaylee as she walked up to Armstrong.

"Greetings my beautiful niece!" cried Amrstrong as he hugged her tightly. Alan and Joel approached the two. Armstrong noticed Joel and pulled him into the hug. "Ah, my dashing nephew! You look stronger than when I last saw you!"

"I saw you last week," said Joel trying to struggle out of his uncle's grip.

"Hi, Colonel," greeted Alan.

"Hello, Alan," said Armstrong letting go if his niece and nephew much to their relief. He grabbed Alan's hand and shook it. "I look forward to our alchemy training session this week."

"You're an alchemist?" asked Joel.

"I'm in training," explained Joel. Another called pulled up and Winry stepped out and walked over at them.

"Hey, honey, how was your first day?" she asked.

"It was good," said Alan.

"We kept the bullies away from him," said Joel earning him another elbow in the arm from his sister.

"Bullies?" repeated Winry.

"No big deal, Mom. It's fine."

"Alright. I'll let it go for now. But if there's any more trouble you tell me, understand?"

"Yes, ma'am." Alan said his goodbye to his friends and went home. When he got there he bumped into Kaylee and Joel again.

"Alan?" asked Kaylee. "You live here too?"

"Yeah," said Alan happily.

"Hello again," said Winry.

"Oh, I'm sorry," apologized Kaylee. "I forgot my manners. My name's Kaylee."

"I'm Joel," greeted Joel.

"Nice to meet you," said Winry. "You can call me Winry."

"A pleasure," said Kaylee.

"You're his mom?" asked Joel.

"Joel, don't be rude," scolded Kaylee.

"It's okay," said Winry.

"I'm adopted," said Alan. He started coughing a bit. He pulled out his inhaler and used it.

"You okay?" asked Kaylee.

"I'll be fine," said Alan.

"Well, we should get inside," said Winry. "Dinner will be ready soon."

"Okay. Buy guys," said Alan.

"Bye," said Kaylee as she and Joel waved them off.

"They seem very nice," said Winry.

"Yeah. They are."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4. I'm boosting the rating up to T given the violence here and in future chapters. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 4

Alan panted heavily as he put the weight down. He began to cough as his breath ran short. He pulled out his inhaler and took a couple breaths with it.

"You feeling alright, Alan?" asked Joel who was also lifting weights. Both boys were training with Armstrong. Joel often worked out with his uncle and insisted he be around when Alan was training with Armstrong to make sure Alan wasn't accidentally overworked. Armstrong tended to forget little things like severe asthma when he was involved with his workouts.

"I-I just *cough* need a second," said Alan.

"Hey, Uncle Alex, Alan needs a break." Armstrong looked up from his bench-pressing and saw Alan's heavy breathing.

"An excellent idea," said Armstrong. "I think a few minutes rest would do us all well."

"I'm okay," said Alan.

"Nonsense," said Armstrong. "You cannot fool me, Alan Rockbell. Ten minutes break then we can go back to training." Alan nodded deciding not to argue with his mentor. He grabbed the bottle of water he brought with him and took a swig.

"I know this is a dumb question," said Joel as he took a seat next to Alan. "But how does working out train you for alchemy?"

"Not a dumb question at all!" shouted Armstrong practically getting in both boys' faces. "Not only is a bright mind required to learn alchemy but a strong body is needed to handle the physical strain!" He ripped his shirt off and began posing. "One must train their body to be in the highest form if they wish to reach their potential as an alchemist. Let my fantastic physique serve as an example and motivation for you my boys!" Alan went back to his water and Joel grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat off his brown as both boys tried to ignore Amrstrong showing off.

"He always like-"

"Yes," said Joel. "Is what he says even true? About a strong body being good for alchemy."

"Not sure," said Alan. "I think the soul is considered the important part of completing the transmutation process but a strong body couldn't hurt." As they spoke, Roy Mustang entered the room.

"Hey, Uncle Roy," said Alan.

"Hello boys. How's training?"

"Going very well, General," answered Armstrong. "Have you come to take Alan?"

"Yes, it's my turn for to train him."

"Ah, the time must have slipped away from me. Farewell, Alan. I look forward to our next training session."

"Bye, Alan," said Joel.

"Bye," said Alan.

"Go get a shower. I'll meet you outside the locker room," said Roy.

"Okay."

After his shower, Mustang took Alan to the records office of Central Command. They walked into a small room where Sheska was working.

"Hey, Miss Sheska," greeted Alan. Sheska looked up from her desk and saw Alan and Roy watching her. She quickly stood up and saluted.

"G-General Mustang! I'm sorry! I didn't hear you come in!" she apologized profusely.

"It's alright, Sheska," said Roy. "Could you watch Alan for me for a moment?"

"Y-yes sir," answered Sheska.

"I thought you were going to teach me alchemy," said Alan confused.

"I will, but I have a couple of little errands to attend to first. Here," said Roy as he handed Alan an alchemy book. "Start reading and when I get back I'll quiz you. I won't be too long."

"Okay," said Alan. Roy left and Alan took a seat at a desk and began reading. After a couple of minutes, Sheska said she needed to leave for a moment but would be right back. Alan sat alone in the room as he read.

_BOOM!_

The building shook after the explosion. Alan went out into the hallway and saw soldiers running around.

"Alan!" shouted Sheska from behind him. He turned around and saw Sheska running up to him. She grabbed his wrist. "Come on!" she told him. The two ran through the hallway until they heard shooting. Sheska quickly broke the two into an abandoned office and his under the desk.

"What's going on?" asked Alan.

"It's a coup," explained Sheska. "A former State Alchemist named Caleb Cross is trying to take over."

"Where's Uncle Roy?"

"He's leading a counter attack. He told me to keep you safe." The shooting continued for a little while longer. Then everything went quiet.

"Search the rooms!" shouted a voice. "Kill anyone you find!" Sheska and Alan heard the doors to other rooms being opened and shots being heard as the rebels took no prisoners. Finally, the room they were in was kicked opened. The light was flipped on. Alan could see footsteps from under the desk approaching. The desk was knocked aside as a tall man with short blond hair and a scar over his left eye looking down at them. He wore metal gauntlets and armored boots. He smiled wickedly at them.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" asked the man

"Are you Cross?" asked Sheska.

"My reputation precedes me," said Caleb. "Yes, I am Caleb Cross. And I will be the man to take over Amestris."

"Why are you killing all of us?" asked Sheska.

"Just to make a point that I'm not to be trifled with. But you my dear," he said eerily as he looked Sheska over. "I might save you for later." Suddenly, Alan forced himself between the two and stood in front of Sheska with his arms spread out."

"Alan don't!" cried Sheska. Cross used grabbed Alan by the throat and lifted him up. Sheska tried to grab him but was knocked unconscious by Cross.

"You're bold little man," said Cross. He used alchemy to make spikes come out of the fist of the gauntlet of his free hand. "I'll make this slow."

"Hey, someone shoot him!" shouted someone outside the room. Cross looked over his shoulder and saw a pillar of fire fly through the hall killing his men. Mustang then stood in the doorway of the room.

"Put the boy down and surrender, Cross!" demanded Mustang. Cross quickly faced Mustang using Alan as a shield. He held his spiked gauntlet to Alan's neck.

"Make a move Mustang," taunted Cross. "No matter how this goes down the boy dies." Alan's eyes widened in horror. Was there really nothing Roy could do?

"U-Uncle Roy," whimpered Alan.

"Shut up!" demanded Cross. Roy glared at Cross. His fingers ready to unleash his flames. "So what's your move, Mustang?"

"Now!" shouted Roy. Before anyone could react, Riza popped out from her cover by the doorway and fired at Cross, grazing him across the cheek.

"AAH!" cried Cross. His grip loosened enough for Alan to escape. He quickly ran to Riza who held him close.

"Auntie Riza!" he said bursting into tears.

"It's okay, you're safe," assured Riza. Cross stood up and conjured spikes from his gauntlets and charged at Roy.

"Mustang!" he shouted. Roy snapped his fingers and Riza covered Alan's eyes. Winry would kill them both if her eight-year-old saw a man burned to crisp. Cross was covered in flames. They died down revealing Cross alive but severely burned.

"One more chance to surrender," warned Mustang.

"I'll die first!" shouted Cross as he ignored the burns and charged again.

"Fine," said Mustang. He snapped his fingers on both hands, consuming Cross in deadly flame. A burnt corpse fell to the floor. The coup was over.

Roy, Riza, Alan, and Sheska waited in front of Central Command. The fire from the explosion was put out and medics were seeing to the wounded. Sheska sat with Alan on the front steps. A blanket was wrapped around him.

"What's the damage?" Roy asked Riza.

"While the coup was thwarted they did succeed in one part."

"What's that?"

"The Fuhrer. . .He died in the explosion." The group was quiet as the news settled in.

"So what now?" asked Roy.

"A new Fuhrer will have to be picked."

"I see," said Roy. As they spoke a car pulled up and Winry stepped out. Alan bolted for her as soon as he saw her.

"Mom!" he shouted. Winry ran up to him and got on her knees as he nearly tackled her to the ground. He burst into tears as she held him. "It was so scary, Mama! I thought I was gonna die!"

"It's okay now, sweetie. It's okay. I'm here," said Winry as she held him close. Roy and Riza approached the two. Alan looked back at them, tears streaming down his eyes. He quickly hugged them both.

"Thanks for saving me," he told them. The two smiled at their surrogate nephew.

"You're welcome," said Riza.

"Are you going to be okay?" asked Roy. Alan went back to Winry who held him tightly.

"He just needs some time. I think I'll keep him home for a couple days."

"Sounds good," said Roy.

Two days later, Alan was at Winry's shop helping her with automail. Alan seemed to be recovering from the events during the coup just fine. Winry was enjoying the time she was getting to spend her boy.

"Hello?" called Kaylee as she walked into the shop.

"Over here, Kaylee," called Alan. Kaylee walked into the room where they were working.

"Here's your homework, Alan." Kaylee had brought Alan's homework by both days he was gone from school. Alan mumbled in annoyance.

"Alan, don't be rude," said Winry. "Thank you for bringing it by, Kaylee."

"No problem, Miss Rockbell. So, Alan, when are you coming back to school?"

"Tomorrow," said Winry.

"Um. . .I think I might still be emotionally scarred a bit," said Alan.

"Nice try," said Winry. Kaylee chuckled.

"Anyone here?" called out Roy as he walked in.

"Back here," said Alan. Roy joined the three with a smile beaming on his face.

"What is it, Roy?" asked Winry.

"I just got a call from the higher ups in command."

"And?"

"You're looking at the new Fuhrer."

* * *

Yay, Roy finally made Fuhrer!


	5. Chapter 5

This chapter is a short one but important.

* * *

Chapter 5

Alan sat in his room studying for an alchemy quiz. Even though he was Fuhrer now, Roy still made plenty of time for his young apprentice. He quizzed him at least every couple of weeks to see how much knowledge Alan was retaining. His quizzes felt like tests though. He sat back in his seat and rubbed his face. He decided to do some exercises to get his blood flowing. Armstrong would be pleased to know Alan was actually exercising outside of his training sessions with him. He started with some pushups. After about ten, he noticed something under his bed. He sat by his bed and pulled a book out from under his bed. He immediately recognized it as the old journal that got him started with alchemy. Apparently, it used to belong to a friend of mom's. He opened it and looked through the pages. Then he came upon something interesting.

"Human Transmutation," he read aloud. "Alchemic theory of creation or resurrection of human bodies." He hadn't heard of this before. He wondered why no one mentioned it. "This form of alchemy is strictly forbidden." Oh, that's why. "No successful cases recorded. Attempts of this technique have resulted in extreme physical injuries or death." Irony at its cruelest. Still, Alan was intrigued. He kept reading and found the ingredients needed to create and adult human. He also saw the transmutation circle. It was the most intricate one he ever saw. Alan smiled at the potential challenge. Maybe he could be that one who could get it right.

"Alan, are still studying?" asked Winry from outside his room. She opened the door and saw him reading. "What are you doing?"

"Look," said Alan as he handed her the journal. Her eyes widened as she saw what Alan was reading.

"Where'd you get this?" she asked.

"It got shoved under my bed somehow. I think it belonged to that friend of yours."

"Ed. It's his," she told him.

"It's cool, huh?" asked Alan. Winry gave him a shocked look. "What?"

"There's nothing cool about it," said Winry. "Nothing good can come from it."

"What do you mean?" asked Ed. Winry sighed and sat next to him.

"I hoped I would never have to tell you this," she started.

"Tell me what?"

"When I was a kid, my friend Ed and his brother Al lost their mother to an illness. She had been struggling with it for a long time and she finally lost. My friends were devastated at the loss. They decided to try Human Transmutation to get her back. They spent every waking hour for a long time studying Human Transmutation. They thought they could pull it off. But when they tried. . ." Winry was silent for a moment.

"What happened?" asked Alan. Winry sighed before continuing.

"Ed lost his leg. Al lost his body. Ed managed to save Al by binding his soul to a suit of armor."

"Where are they now?" asked Alan.

"They went on a quest to find a Philosopher's Stone, an object that could supposedly give them their bodies back. They ended up being caught up a plot that threatened the nation. Ultimately, while Al got his body back, but both brothers ended up being forced to go far away."

"Are they ever coming back?" asked Alan. Winry quickly wiped the tears forming in her eyes away.

"No. They aren't. They can't." It was quiet again as Alan processed what his mom told him. He shut the journal and put it back under his bed.

"I guess it isn't really all that cool," he said.

"No. Promise me you won't ever try anything like this," said Winry looking him in the eye. Alan could see how sad she was remembering all the misfortunes her friends went through. He nodded.

"I promise." Winry smiled a little and kissed him on the forehead.

"Hey, I was thinking we'd go out for dinner today. Sound good?"

"Yeah," said Alan.

"Okay, let me go grab my things." Winry got up and left the room. Alan pulled his shoes on. He reached back under the bed and grabbed the journal. He flipped through the pages to the part about Human Transmutation.

"I just said I wouldn't try it. A little research couldn't hurt though."

* * *

I think I might crank out another chapter for this today.


	6. Chapter 6

Two in one day! Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 6

Alan fitted on his alchemy gloves. He looked at the transmutation circles stitched on the backs of them. His left one had the circle Armstrong usually used while the right one worked like Roy's gloves and had the circle for Flame Alchemy on it. Armstrong and Roy looked at him with stern faces.

"Alan," said Roy, "it's been five years since you began training with Armstrong and me. You've shown an impressive aptitude for learning. Neither of us has anything to teach you anymore but we still have to see how well you can apply your lessons." The thirteen-year-old Alan gave Roy a cocky smile.

"I've sparred with you two before Uncle Roy," said Alan. "I've won too."

"You've never fought us both at the same time," said Roy.

"Oh, so it'll actually be a challenge, then?"

"Alan, don't be rude!" lectured Winry. Alan looked over to where Winry, Kaylee, Joel, Riza, and Sheska were standing outside the arena Alan, Roy, and Armstrong were. A large crowd had gathered to watch the Fuhrer battle his pupil. They laughed at Winry's lecturing Alan.

"Mom!" shouted Alan getting a little red. Winry smiled satisfied.

"Go, Alan!" shouted Kaylee. Joel whistled loudly.

"You ready for this?" asked Roy pulling on his gloves.

"Are you?" asked Alan. Armstrong pulled on his own gloves and ripped his shirt off.

"Now, Alan Rockbell! Show us what you have learned!" shouted Armstrong. He punched his fist into the ground. Large spikes came out of the ground at Alan. He jumped to back to dodge them, and then promptly punched them with his left fist sending the pieces, now morphed into steel, flying at Armstrong. Armstrong brought up a stone wall to shield himself while Roy snapped a finger sending a ball of fire at Alan. Alan brought up his own wall. Roy was unrelenting as he pursued with the flames. Alan hid behind the wall and started drawing a circle on the ground. Suddenly, the wall he was hiding behind shattered as Armstrong punched it.

"Oh, crap!" shouted Alan he dodged another punch. No way could he get to his circle now.

"We will not allow you to win so easily!" shouted Armstrong as he threw another punch. Alan blocked hit with his left arm.

"Don't hurt him, Uncle Alex!" shouted Kaylee. Alan blushed again.

"Armstrong, get out of the way!" shouted Roy. Alan looked past Armstrong to see Roy ready to launch another fire ball. Quickly, Alan snapped his fingers sending a flame brushing over Armstrong's gloves.

"What?!" shouted Armstrong as he looked at his gloves. The transmutation circles were destroyed. Quickly, Alan trapped Armstrong in a sturdy cage.

"He's out of the way now, Uncle Roy!" taunted Alan.

"Yeah, way to go, Alan!" shouted Joel.

"Go get him sweetie!" shouted Winry.

"Not in public, Mom!" shouted Alan annoyed. He tried to make a rush for the circle he drew earlier but Roy burned it away.

"Nice try," said Roy. He shot a much larger fire ball at Alan. Alan brought up a wall. He decided to try something new and punched the wall sending metal spikes at Roy. He quickly followed up by coating the spikes in fire. As Roy dodged, Alan again drew a circle. Quickly he managed to transmute a dagger. He charged at Roy. "Are you really being that foolish?" asked Roy. Both alchemists snapped their fingers at the same time resulting in a large explosion. When it died down, Alan was nowhere to be seen. "Where is-"

"Hi!" said Alan as he came up from behind. He cut the transmutation circles on Roy's gloves with his dagger then held it to his throat. "You yield?"

"I yield," said Roy with a satisfied smile. The two faced each other and shook hands. "Good work."

"Thanks, Uncle Roy," said Alan proudly.

"Alan!" shouted Kaylee as she and Joel ran towards him. Kaylee hugged him tightly. "Congratulations!"

"Nice work, buddy," said Joel. Winry walked up to the group smiling. Alan walked up to her.

"What did you think, Mom?" he asked.

"I'm so proud of you," she said hugging him.

"So what now?" asked Joel.

"Let's go celebrate," said Winry. "Milkshakes on me." All three kids quickly ran to Winry's car.

"So what do kids have planned for summer?" asked Riza. She, Roy, and Sheska had joined Alan and the other's for milkshakes.

"Not much," said Joel.

"I'm actually going camping with some friends in a couple weeks," said Kaylee.

"What about you, Alan?" asked Riza.

"I'm going to Rush Valley for the summer," said Alan. "Now that my alchemy training's done, I want to learn more about automail."

"Can't you learn that here?" asked Sheska.

"It was Mom's idea," said Alan. "She says Rush Valley's the best place to learn about different automail."

"You know there's always something more to learn about alchemy," said Roy.

"I know. I'll still study. I just to focus on automail a little more."

"Well, I hope you have a nice trip," said Riza.

"Hey, odd question," said Joel.

"What?" asked Alan.

"Where's Uncle Alex?"

"You not let him out of the cage?" asked Roy looking at Alan. It was quiet as everyone looked at Alan.

"Um? Mom, I got to go back to the arena real quick," said Alan. Winry sighed as she pinched her nose.

Winry, Joel, and Kaylee stood with Alan at the train station.

"You behave while you're with Paninya," said Winry.

"I'll be good," promised Alan. Winry smiled sadly. Alan hugged her close. "I'll miss you, Mom. Love you."

"I love you too," said Winry. The two let go of each other.

"You're going to call right?" asked Kaylee.

"Every day," said Alan.

"Okay," said Kaylee. Alan smiled as he hugged her as well.

"Enjoy your trip, okay?" he told her.

"I will. You have fun too." Joel smiled as he put his hand on Alan's shoulder.

"Good luck, bro," said Joel

"Yeah. Take care," the two bumped fists before Alan got on the train. He looked over his shoulder. "I won't be gone long."

"We know. But keep in touch anyway," said Winry.

"Right," said Alan. He boarded the train and took his seat. He looked out the window and saw his mom and friends wave at him as he took off.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Joel walked out of the grocery store holding the bag of items he brought in his right arm. He looked up at the sky. It was getting dark. He really wished his mom would stop making him go buy all the items she forgot to get when she went shopping. He decided to cut through an alley to get home quicker. As he walked through, he heard voices shouting.

"Hey, stop her!"

"Freeze!"

Suddenly, a red haired woman who looked to be in her twenties came in from the opposite end of the alley. She had bag in her left hand and a gun in her right.

"Someone stop her!" Joel heard an officer shout. Without thinking, Joel dropped the grocery bag and grabbed the woman's arms as she ran into him.

"Let go of me, shrimp!" demanded the woman.

"Not a chance!" said Joel. He was grateful for all that working out he did with his uncle.

"Where'd she go?" shouted an officer.

"I think she went down this way!" replied another.

"Looks like you lose today," taunted Joel.

"No!" shouted the woman sounding crazed. "I'm not going back to jail!" She kneed Joel in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. His grip loosened and she pulled herself free. Quickly, Joel recovered and grabbed her right hand. As he struggled to get the gun from her grasp it accidentally fired hitting Joel in his stomach. Joel fell to his back. Quickly, the woman ran off. Two officers entered the alley and saw Joel lying on the ground bleeding out. One chased after the woman while the other knelt by Joel's side.

"It's okay, Son," said the officer. "You're going to be alright. Can you tell me what happened?" Joel didn't respond as he blacked out. "Hey, kid, stay with me! Kid? Hey!"

* * *

Alan sat in the spare room at Paninya's house working on an automail arm. So far he loved it in Rush Valley. He had already found three people willing to mentor him after showing off his automail skills. He decided to agree to learn from all three of them and switched out between them on a weekly basis. Most people thought he was crazy, but he had two mentors for alchemy why not have multiple teachers for automail? He yawned and put the arm down. He decided to turn in for the night. The arm was already done he was just tweaking it to show off. Just as he was about to go to be, Paninya knocked on the door.

"Hey, Alan," she called. Alan opened the door.

"What's up?" he asked.

"You got a call from your mom," she answered. "It sounded serious."

"Really? Okay, thanks." He went downstairs to the living room where he saw the phone off the receiver. He picked it up. "Hey, Mom, it's Alan."

"Alan," said Winry. She sounded upset. "Something's happened."

"What?" asked Alan.

"There was a bank robbery. The robber got away but Joel tried to stop her."

"What? Why'd he do something so stupid? I'll kill him if he got himself hurt."

"That's just it, Alan," said Winry. Alan could have sworn he heard her start choking up.

"Mom, just come out with it. What happened?"

"Joel, he's. . .he's dead." Alan's eyes widened in horror.

"What?!"

* * *

Joel walked down the sidewalk to his apartment building. He was still processing everything. How'd this happen? Alan just saw Joel a couple weeks ago. He was talking to him on the phone just two days before. Now he was dead. It was all too sudden. He reached his building and went inside. He climbed up the stairs to his floor. Joel's floor was just below his. Alan decided to see how Joel's family was doing. He went to their apartment and knocked on the door. It was answered by Kaylee.

"Alan?" she gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard what happened," said Joel. "I came back as soon as I got word." Kaylee gave him a weak smile.

"You didn't need to do that," she told him.

"I would be a terrible friend if I didn't," said Alan. "I stopped by to check in on you all. How are you? I know, dumb question, but-" he was interrupted by Kaylee hugging him tightly as she started to weep loudly.

"I can't believe it!" she wailed. "My big brother's dead! Why'd that woman have to kill him like that? He didn't do anything wrong!" She cried into Alan's shoulder as he hugged her tightly. He felt tears prick his eyes. He found himself at a loss for words as he stood their hugging his distraught friend.

"I-I don't-"

"Don't say anything," she told him "Not yet. I just need someone to be here. I've been trying to be strong for my family the whole time. I've been holding my tears back. Just let me cry for now, okay?" Alan was dumbfounded. He was completely unsure what to do. But if all she needed was someone to let her cry, he could do that.

"Okay," he answered.

* * *

The funeral was a week later. Alan watched as one of his best friends was put into the ground and covered in dirt. He vaguely remembered his own parents' funeral. He desperately hoped that no one else he cared about would die while he was helpless to do anything. After the funeral, Alan left. He was done mourning. He was going to act now. He thought about going to the police station but he knew they'd never tell him anything. He was just a kid. He decided to go to a higher power. Someone he knew would take him seriously.

"I need the name of the woman who killed Joel!" he announced as he entered the Fuhrer's office. Roy looked up from his desk and gave him a stern look.

"Alan," he said.

"Don't 'Alan' me!" shouted the angry boy as he stormed up to Roy. He slammed his hands on his desk. "Who did it? Tell me who killed my friend!"

"Don't order me around, Alan," said Roy firmly. "I have no intention of telling you who killed, Joel."

"Why not?" asked Alan getting angrier.

"That right there, your loss of self-control. You aren't thinking straight. I don't want you to do something rash."

"I lost someone I called a brother, I get a right to be rash!"

"No, you don't!" shouted Roy. Alan was taken aback. Roy never raised his voice at him before. "You're hurt and confused. Believe me I was there. My best friend was killed too. But if you let your lust for revenge get the better of you it will consume you. It'll never end. You'll become no better than the person who wronged you."

"Joel was just a kid. He was barely older than me," said Alan as he started crying. "He was trying to help and died for it. It isn't fair that his killer gets away with it." Roy stood up and put his hands on Alan's shoulders.

"I know. It isn't. But I need you to stay strong. Trust me, Alan; I'll catch who did this. And she'll pay for her crimes." Alan didn't reply as he turned and left. Roy wasn't any help. He'd have to do this on his own.

* * *

Alan walked aimlessly through the streets. He had no idea where to begin to look for a murder suspect. No one was going to tell him anything about it. Her name wasn't even in the papers. Roy made sure of that. Alan sighed as he walked home. Suddenly, he was bumped into a red haired woman holding a bag.

"Watch it, brat!" she told him. Alan looked over his shoulder as she ran down the street.

"Could she be?" he asked himself.

"Hey stop her!" shouted a man stepping out of a bank. "She just robbed us." Immediately Alan turned and ran after her. He caught her running to the warehouse district and followed her. He saw her just as she slipped into one of the warehouses. He ran inside and saw her. As soon as she noticed him she shot at him. Alan ducked behind a pillar and slipped on his Flame Alchemy glove. He snapped his fingers sending a fireball at her. She ducked out of the way and headed for a staircase. Alan drew a circle around a metal rod and turned it into a short sword. He followed her up the stairs. She fired a couple more shots frantically. Alan hid behind a crate as the bullets missed him. He launched another fireball at her. Again, she ran off, but Alan pursued her. The two found themselves on the roof. Cornered she turned around and pointed her gun at him. She hesitated when she got a good look at him.

"You're a kid?" she asked surprised.

"Did you rob a bank two weeks ago?" Alan asked. He wasn't in any mood for games.

"What"

"Don't play dumb! A bank was robbed to weeks ago. The culprit was a woman. She killed a fourteen-year-old boy named Joel. Was it you?" The woman looked horrified.

"I, it was, my finger slipped! It was an accident!"

"Like I care!" shouted Alan as he launched a pillar of fire at her. He only burned her gun. The other rounds in it exploded from the heat wounding her hand. "He was my best friend. And you went and killed him!" He walked up to her gripping his sword tightly. The woman fell to her knees and started crying.

"I'm sorry!" she shouted. "I didn't mean it! I was scared. I couldn't go back to jail!" she started crying as she spoke. Alan was surprised at her reaction. He could tell she was genuine. He found himself unable to lift his sword. Alan looked at the blade and realized what he was about to do. Roy was right, revenge was clouding his judgment. He dropped the blade and looked at the woman.

"I can't do it," he told her. "I'm no murderer. But I can't let you go. I need to turn to in."

"NO!" shouted the woman. She knocked him down and picked up his sword. "You can't take me back there!"

"Freeze!" shouted an officer as he came onto the scene. He pointed the gun at her.

"I won't go back! I won't!" she shouted. She took the blade and drove it into her stomach.

"No!" shouted Alan. The woman fell off the building land landed on the ground below. Alan looked at her horrified. In the end, revenge wasn't required.

* * *

Sorry about the lackluster ending.


	8. Chapter 8

Things get real here.

* * *

Chapter 8

Alan got an earful from both Roy and Winry after they found out what happened. The rest of Alan's trip to Rush Valley was cancelled as punishment. Not that it mattered though. Alan wasn't planning on going back. He was sent up to his room as soon as Winry was done lecturing and looked under his bed. He found a box that was filled with notes he took on Human Transmutation and pulled it out.

"I know I said I would never try, but that was before I lost my best friend. Before Kaylee lost her brother." He frowned as he thought of how depressed Kaylee had been. She didn't talk to anyone during or after the funeral except her parents. She barely said two words to Alan since he first saw her when he got back from Rush Valley. He opened the box with new determination and began looking through the notes.

He had done his best to try and find various other materials on Human Transmutation, but wasn't able to scrounge much up. Luckily, Ed's old journal had plenty of information that he could use. He went over the necessary ingredients needed for his plan to work and began figuring out how much of each he needed for a fourteen-year-old's body. However, there was one ingredient he needed the most.

"Soul data," he read aloud. "How am I going to get soul data?" He sighed. There was no easy way to do this. Not like he could just go up to one of Joel's family members and ask for a blood sample or something like that. He closed the journal, put it and his notes back in the box, and shoved it under his bed. His plan would have to wait a little while longer.

* * *

"Hey ,Kaylee!" shouted Alan as he ran up the sidewalk to catch up to her. She looked over her shoulder at him but quickly turned her gaze away. Alan slowed to a walk when he was next to her. "Walking to school today?"

No answer.

"It's a nice day out, huh?"

No answer.

"Hey, you get the reading done for Literature class? Miss Wells is going to quiz us today I think."

No answer.

"Okay, that's it!" said Alan as he stood in front of her and held his arms out. She stopped and glared at him.

"Move, Alan," she said.

"Not until you tell me why you won't talk to me," said Alan.

"I'm not in the mood to talk to anyone," said Kaylee.

"It's been almost a month," said Alan.

"So?" asked Kaylee annoyed. "I lost my big brother. My best friend! Do you know what that's like?"

"He was my friend too," said Alan.

"But he wasn't family," said Kaylee.

"I've lost family too," Alan reminded her.

"Not like you remember it though!" she shouted at him. Alan was taken aback. He never thought Kaylee would go there. He did his best to try to not start yelling at her. Kaylee gasped when she realized what she said and put her hand over her mouth. "A-Alan, I didn't mean it." Alan just hung his head and started walking away. "Alan, hold on!" cried Kaylee as she caught up to him and grabbed his arm. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"Why not?" asked Alan. "Not like your wrong. I guess I don't have any real way to sympathize with you." He pulled his arm away from her.

"Alan," she said.

"Forget it," he said. He turned around and faced her. "I'm going to tell you something that you have to keep a secret, okay?"

"Um. . .alright."

"I'm going to do something. A secret alchemy project. But I'm missing a crucial piece."

"What are you planning?" Kaylee asked concerned.

"I want it to be a surprise, okay?" he told her. "I need a piece of your hair though."

"Huh? Why?" she asked.

"If what I do goes well, you won't have a reason to be sad anymore."

"You won't hurt yourself doing this will you? Does Roy or your mom know?" she asked.

"Like I said, it'll be a surprise. Now can I have a strand of hair? I can't do this without one." Kaylee looked at him suspiciously before nodding.

"Okay," she agreed. She grabbed a single strand of hair and pulled it out. She handed it to Alan who wrapped in a handkerchief. "Alan?"

"Yeah?" he asked looking up at her. He suddenly found himself caught in her embrace.

"I'm really sorry for what I said," she apologized. "I didn't mean it." Alan hesitated for a moment before hugging her back.

"You were right, though," he said. "I really don't remember much about my parents' deaths."

"Still doesn't make their loss any less hard on you," she told him. "And it doesn't make what I said okay. Thank you for being there, Alan. You're a good friend." Alan smiled as the two just hugged for a moment.

"We really should get to school," said Alan pulling away from her. Kaylee nodded in agreement.

"So did _you _do the reading assignment?" she asked him as they started walking.

"I was kinda hopin' you would tell me what it was about," he said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. Kaylee sighed.

"What am I going to do with you?"

* * *

Alan spent the next month gathering the necessary ingredients. He kept them stored in an old warehouse he found. He spent every spare moment studying Human Transmutation. He even pulled off a couple of all-nighters just to make sure he had everything down. Winry almost caught him three times studying the forbidden alchemy but he managed to cover his tracks each time. Finally, he had all the needed ingredients. He drew the transmutation circle and put the ingredients in a pot in the center of it. He pulled out the tissue paper he kept Kaylee's hair in and put the strand in the pot.

"I promise you're not going to be sad anymore, Kaylee," he said aloud. "I'm going to bring your brother back." He stood outside the circle and smiled at his work. He got on his knees. "Here we go." He clapped and put his hands on the circle. At first everything seemed to be going well. Alan smiled. His friend was going to come back. Kaylee would get to see her big brother again. That's when everything went wrong.

The golden glow of the transmutation circle became a dark purple. Alan felt a violent gust of wind blowing around him. Suddenly, there was a bright light and he found himself before a large Gate. He was pulled inside where he thought he saw an image of Joel.

"Joel?" he asked. His eyes widened when he realized how close he was to bringing his friend back. "Joel!" he shouted. As he made his way to his friend, he was attacked by purple-eyed shadow children. "What? Get off me!" shouted Joel. Some of the shadow children thrust their arms into his chest. Alan started coughing and gasping for breath as he felt his left lung being pulled on. Just as was about to reach Joel, Alan felt himself being forced out of the Gate and everything went white again.

* * *

Alan found himself back on the warehouse. Smoke was everywhere. The left side of his chest was in unbelievable pain. He clutched it and started coughing. Blood sprayed out of his mouth with each cough.

"What happened? He asked. He coughed again spraying out more blood. "My chest. Why does it hurt?" He looked up and saw a shadowy figure in the smoke. "Joel? Is that you?" As the smoke cleared, Alan's eyes widened in horror at the misshapen abomination that was before him. Suddenly, his vision began to blur as he started to black out.

_This was a mistake. What have I done?_

* * *

Hope you liked it. Feel free to leave a comment.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

_Rrriiinng! _

Roy opened an eye as he heard the phone downstairs ring. He hoped it was just his imagination.

_Rrriiinng! _

Roy groaned a little in annoyance. He opened his eyes all the way and looked at Riza. She was curled up against him with her arm wrapped around his waist. It was quite the dilemma. Answer the phone or stay cuddled with his wife.

_Rrriiinng! _

"You going to get that?" asked Riza. Roy was surprised to find she was awake too.

"Do I have to?" asked Roy.

"It'll just keep ringing if you don't"

"They'll hang up eventually," Roy reasoned.

"Roy," said Riza sternly.

"Alright, fine," said Roy as he forced himself out of bed.

_Rrriiinng! _

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you," shouted Roy as he went downstairs and answered the phone. "If it's a drunken Havoc again, I'll kill him," he grumbled. He picked up the phone. "Hello?" he asked annoyed.

"Roy?" asked Winry. She sounded stressed out.

"Winry? What's wrong?" asked Roy concerned.

"It's Alan," answered Winry. "It's almost midnight. His curfew was over two hours ago and he hasn't come home or even called."

"What?" asked Roy surprised. Alan wasn't one to stay out past curfew. "Alright, I'll go look for him. You stay home in case he comes home, alright?"

"Yes," answered Winry. "Please make sure he's okay. And tell him he's way beyond grounded when he gets home!" Roy smiled. Moments like this made him think Winry could have beaten the Homunculi just by lecturing them.

"I will," said Roy. "I'll call you when I find him. Don't worry." He hung up and turned to go back upstairs. Riza was already halfway down the steps.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Alan's been gone two hours past curfew. Winry's worried."

"I'll go get ready." She started heading back up the stairs.

"You don't have to come," said Roy. She stopped and looked over her shoulder t him.

"What kind of aunt would I be if I didn't look for my nephew?" she asked. Roy smiled and followed her up the stairs. Alan may not be related by blood, but they still cared for him as a nephew and nothing was going to happen to him on their watch.

"I'll get Armstrong on this too," said Roy. "He'll want to help."

* * *

Alan woke up to find himself still in the warehouse. His chest still hurt like crazy and his breathing was short. He wished he didn't leave his inhaler at home.

"One more thing I should have listened to Mom about," he said to himself. He struggled to get on his hands and knees. He looked up and noticed the creature that resulted from his transmutation was gone.

"Where'd it go?" he asked. He slowly managed to get to his feet. He coughed spraying a little blood on the circle. He clutched his chest. "Why does it hurt so much?!" he shouted. He slowly made his way out of the warehouse. It was much harder to breathe than before. What did those shadow children do to him? He made his way out to the streets and tried to walk home. Hardly anyone was out tonight and those who were didn't pay much attention.

"Alan!" someone shouted. Alan stopped and looked around.

"Huh?" he asked. He swore someone was calling his name.

"Alan!" came the voice again. Alan looked in the direction of the voice and found someone making their way across the street to him. "Alan, there you are."

"Mr. Armstrong?" asked Alan.

"Fear not my boy," said Armstrong. "I have come to bring you home." Alan smiled weakly then suddenly lost his balance. "Alan!" shouted Armstrong as he grabbed his pupil. Alan coughed up more blood getting a little on Armstrong's sleeve. "Alan what happened?"

"I did something bad," explained Alan. "I've sinned. I tried to play God and failed miserably."

"Alan, don't tell me you. . ." He couldn't finish the sentence. Alan started crying.

"I just wanted my friend back," he said weakly. "I wanted to make Kaylee happy again." Armstrong carefully lifted the boy in his arms and carried him to the hospital.

"Was it worth it?" asked Armstrong.

"Not for a second," answered Alan.

* * *

Alan shifted in the hospital bed. Winry, Roy, and Riza were in the room with him. Winry sat by her son. Riza stood by the door with an unreadable expression. Roy, however, stood at the foot of the bed glaring angrily at Alan. The silence was deafening.

"I'm a fool," said Roy. Everyone looked at him.

"What?" asked Winry.

"I'm a fool," he repeated. "For five years, I trained this boy and not once did I even expect he was studying something so dangerous." Alan averted his gaze. "Look at me!" demanded Roy. Alan looked into Roy's fierce gaze. "What were you thinking? Why would you do something so foolish?"

"Kaylee lost her best friend. It made her so sad," answered Alan. "I wanted to make her happy."

"And look where that got you," said Roy. Alan didn't reply. It was quiet again until the doctor came into the room.

"How bad is it?" asked Winry.

"He'll live," said the doctor. "However, it's not all good news."

"Spit it out, Doc," said Roy annoyed. The doctor nodded.

"He's lost his left lung," explained the doctor. Winry gasped in surprise and Alan clutched the left side of his chest. "There are people who have lived with only one lung but I would cut back on any strenuous activity. Also, the fact that you have asthma will require you to be more careful."

"Yeah," said Alan.

"Thank you, Doctor," said Winry. The doctor nodded and left. It was clear he could feel the tension in the room. Before he went out the door he stopped.

"There's a visitor here for you," he said. "Should I let her in?" Alan nodded. The doctor left and Kaylee walked in with Armstrong. Alan avoided her gaze.

"Alan?" she asked as she walked up to him. She grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her. He could see the tears in her eyes.

"Kaylee," he said.

_SLAP!_

Everyone in the room was shocked at Kaylee's action. Alan touched his left cheek where Kaylee slapped him.

"You're such an idiot!" she yelled at him. "How dare you trick me into helping you with this?!" She started crying as she spoke. "Did you really think it would work? Were you really that stupid?"

"Yes," said Alan bluntly. Kaylee just looked at him confused.

"What?" she asked.

"Yes," repeated Alan. "Yes, I thought I could do it. I wholeheartedly believed I could do what everyone else failed at. I thought I was smart enough. That I was strong enough. I thought my resolve would be enough to make it work." Tears started rolling down his cheek. "But I was wrong. Utterly wrong. I entered God's domain and was shown just how stupid my idea was. So I get it, okay? I get it. I'm an idiotic fool who didn't learn a thing when it counted. You all made your point."

"So what now?" asked Armstrong.

"Right now I need to talk to my mom," said Alan. "Alone." No one said anything as everyone left the room leaving Winry alone with her son.

"So what did you want to. . ." She stopped when she saw Alan crying profusely. "Alan?"

"I'm so sorry, Mama," he said. "I'm sorry. You tried to warn me but I didn't listen. I lied to you for five years as I defied you just to satisfy my own curiosity. You just tried to help but I was too selfish to listen. And now you probably hate me for it!" Winry pulled her chair closer and hugged Alan. She held him close as she let him cry.

"I don't hate you," she said.

"What?" asked Alan confused.

"I said I don't hate you," said Winry.

"You have more reason than most," said Alan. Winry smiled at him.

"I could never hate you," she said as she started wiping his tears away with her thumb.

"But I-"

"You wanted to bring back a friend. Someone close to you. My friends did that too. All of you thought you were helping."

"But I knew the cost," said Alan. "And I disobeyed you anyway. How can you not hate me?"

"Because you're my son, Alan," she said firmly. "No matter what you say or do you are my son and will _always _be my son. I'll always be there for you and no one can ever change how I feel about you." Alan seemed to calm down some. He pulled away from her and rubbed his eyes.

"I'm done with it all," said Alan.

"With what?" asked Winry.

"Alchemy. I'm done. I'm finished. I don't want any more to do with it," he said.

"Are you sure?" asked Winry.

"Yeah. I almost murdered someone with it and I lost my lung because of it. It hasn't done me any good. So from here on out I'm giving it up."

"Okay," said Winry.

"I have something else to ask."

"What is it?"

"Is there any chance we could go back to Risembool?" he asked. "I miss the calmness and simplicity of it there."

"Really?" asked Winry.

"If it would be too much trouble-"

"No," Winry interrupted. "I miss it too."

"So you're okay with it?" asked Alan.

"I am if you are," she said. Alan nodded.

"I am."

* * *

One month passed before Winry and Alan were ready to go back to Risembool. Neither of them had much contact with anyone other than Sheska and the Hughes. Finally, the day came for the Rockbells to go back to the grassy plains of Risembool. Sheska and the Hughes were there to see them off.

"Keep in touch, okay?" asked Sheska as she hugged Winry.

"I will," said Winry.

"Goodbye," said Elicia sadly. She hugged Alan and Winry.

"Take care of yourselves," said Gracia hugging her two friends. Alan started to board the train.

"Wait!" shouted Riza as she ran up to them. Alan stopped and looked at her.

"Where's Roy?" asked Winry.

"He's. . .busy," said Riza. Winry nodded. Everyone knew full well he didn't want to come. "Alan?"

"Yes?" he asked. Riza walked up to him and hugged him.

"I want you to know that no matter what both Roy and I will always see you as our nephew."

"Thanks," said Alan as he hugged her back. He was about to board the train again.

"Alan Rockbell!" shouted a loud voice. Alan turned around and saw Armstrong and Kaylee approach. Amrstrong grabbed Alan in a crushing hug. "Fare well young Alan!" he said weeping profusely. "No matter what anyone says, it was an honor to be your mentor!"

"Y-yeah, thanks!" grunted Alan as he struggled out of Armstrong's grip. Kaylee walked up to him.

"So you're really leaving?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said.

"Are you ever coming back?" she asked.

"Don't know," he said.

"Oh," said Kaylee. She hung her head. It was quiet between the two for a moment. Slowly, Kaylee wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. "I never wanted you to leave," she said through tears. "I already lost my brother. I didn't want to lose you either." Alan didn't say anything. He gently pulled himself from her grip and faced the train.

"Too many bad memories here," said Alan. "Too much hurt. I need to leave for now." He boarded the train not giving her or anyone else a chance to say anything to him. Winry went up to Kaylee and gave her a gentle hug.

"He just needs time," said Winry. "I'm sure he'll come back someday. He might not say it, but there are still people he cares about here."

"Right," said Kaylee. "Thanks."

* * *

Alan looked out the window at his friends. Everyone but Kaylee was waving. A small part of him regretted leaving. Maybe he would come back some day. He smiled softly at Kaylee and waved his hand to her slightly. Kaylee smiled and gently waved back as the train took off. Alan sat back in his seat next to his mom.

_Yeah. I'll definitely come back someday, Kaylee. I promise._


	10. Chapter 10

I made the infinitely stupid mistake of posting the wrong chapter yesterday. Go ahead and laugh, I deserve it. Anyway I have corrected the error and I am deeply sorry for the inconvenience.

* * *

Chapter 10

It was a cool breezy summer day in Risembool. A young girl with blond hair sat on a train as she watched the grassy plains and hills of the peaceful town go by. She wondered why she never bothered coming to Risembool before now. It was very nice. The train pulled to a stop and the girl got off. She walked into the train station and went up to the ticket counter. An old bald man sat behind the counter and looked at her as she approached.

"Why hello there young lady," he greeted.

"Hello, Sir," the girl greeted politely.

"Is there something I can help you with?" asked the old man.

"Yes, actually," answered the girl. "I'm looking for this boy." She gave him a picture of a black-haired boy with bright green eyes. The man took the picture and looked at it.

"Oh, that's Alan Rockbell," said the old man.

"So you know him?" asked the girl.

"Yes," answered the man. "But this picture is a bit dated. His hair is longer and his shoulders are broader. He's even starting to grow a goatee. Poor Winry has a lot to put up with."

"A goatee?" asked the girl. "Really?" The man nodded. "Huh. Well, can you tell me where I can find him?"

"Yes, here's his address." The man scribbled an address down on a piece of paper and handed it to her. "Do you need a ride perhaps?" he asked.

"No, thank," said the girl. She pulled out some money and gave it to him. "But I could use a map."

"Of course," said the man. He pulled out a map and handed it to her. "So how do you know Alan?"

"I'm a friend of his from a few years ago. My name's Kaylee."

Kaylee found herself in the busiest part of town. The word 'busy' being used very loosely. This place didn't begin to compare to Central. It was nowhere near as crowded or loud and everyone actually looked content. As she walked around the city she saw a young boy sitting on a stool in front of a grocery store. An older boy knelt in front of him with his back turned to Kaylee. He wore black pants and a gray t-shirt. His shoulders were broad and he looked fairly muscular. His black hair was kept in a ponytail that fell between his shoulder blades.

"Could it be?" she asked herself. As she approached the two boys, he heard the older one talking to the younger one.

"Just let me tighten the screw aaand. . .done!" said the older boy. His voice was deeper than Alan's but still sounded like him. "Okay, Jason, can you stand up for me."

"Yes," said the younger boy. He stood up. Kaylee noticed the boy had an automail leg.

"Can you walk on it okay?" asked the older boy. Jason paced back and forth a couple of times before standing in front of the older boy.

"Uh-huh," he said nodding.

"Alright then, that should be it," said the older boy. "Be sure to take good care of it and tell me if there are any problems." Jason nodded before heading down into the store. The older boy stood up and turned around. He stopped when he almost bumped into Kaylee.

"Oh, sorry about. . .Kaylee?" he asked. The two just stared at each other like they were looking at a ghost. The old man was right, Alan looked a lot older. But then again, she hadn't seen him in three years. She noticed the small patch of hair growing on his chin. Alan was just as surprised. Kaylee's hair was longer now. She was a little taller and her body was more. . .developed. His childhood friend was practically a woman now.

"Hey, Alan," she greeted. Her voice was as soft and kind as ever.

"Been a while," said Alan.

"Yeah."

"So, um, wh-what brings you here?" he asked. Kaylee's expression went a bit solemn when she remembered why she came to Risembool in the first place.

"I need to talk to you," she said. She looked around. "But could it be somewhere more private?"

"Yeah, sure," said Alan. "I was heading home if you don't mind going there."

"That'll work I guess," she said.

The walk to Alan's place was quiet. Neither really knew what to say. Alan wondered what could have brought Kaylee all the way here from Central. He hadn't spoken to her since he left. It suddenly hit him just how long it really was. Three years. He hadn't seen her in three whole years. He was sure Kaylee was mad at him for that. Alan's house came into view. It was a light blue house with a black roof. Winry was unable to get back her old childhood home since she sold it before they moved to Central. This new house was nice though. It was smaller but still plenty of room for both. Alan pulled out a key and unlocked the front door.

"Mom, I'm home!" he called.

"Hey, honey," Winry called back. Kaylee heard steps upstairs then saw Winry coming down the stairs. She stopped when she saw Kaylee. "Kaylee?"

"Hello, Miss Rockbell," greeted Kaylee.

"Hey, you," Winry greeted happily as she hurried over and hugged Kaylee. "Let me look at you," said Winry as she looked Kaylee over. "You've grown up so much," said Winry.

"Thank you," said Kaylee blushing a little.

"What brings you all the way out here?" asked Winry.

"Well, it's complicated," said Kaylee.

"Well come in and have a seat," said Winry leading Kaylee over to the couch. Alan sat in the recliner next to the couch while Winry and Kaylee sat on the couch.

"I don't really know how to put this," said Kaylee.

"Then just say it," said Alan.

"Okay, then," said Kaylee. "Fuhrer Mustang has been getting reports lately from Reole. There have been two murders there recently. Apparently, the victims were involved in an incident of national security fourteen years ago."

"What does that have to do with us?" asked Alan.

"The murderer," said Kaylee. "So far they haven't caught him, but someone was able to get a photo of him." She reached into her purse and pulled out a photo. She handed it to Alan who looked at it closely. It was a blurry picture of someone about seventeen-years-old. Alan's eyes widened when he got a good look at the murderer's face.

"How?" he asked. "It can't be."

"What?" asked Winry. Alan handed her the photo. Winry gasped and put her hand to her mouth when she saw it. "That looks like. . ."

"Joel," said Kaylee. "We're not sure how but-"

"My transmutation," interrupted Alan.

"What?" asked Kaylee.

"When I tried to bring Joel back, I thought I saw a horribly disfigured creature before I blacked out. When I opened my eyes, it was gone though."

"And you didn't bring it up?" asked Kaylee annoyed.

"I saw a lot of weird things that day," argued Alan. "I thought I was seeing things. But I don't know how that creature was able to survive let alone be able to look like Joel."

"Roy might know," said Winry. "You should talk to him, Kaylee."

"Actually," said Kaylee looking at Alan. "I was hoping you would come with me Alan."

"Why?" he asked.

"I don't know what's happening but I know alchemy is involved. I don't know alchemy, Alan. You do."

"You know I gave that up," said Alan sternly.

"I know but I need you to be willing to use it for at least a little while."

"Get the Fuhrer to help," said Alan.

"I tried but he thinks it's just a coincidence," said Kaylee. She looked like she on the verge of tears. "I've asked everyone I know but they won't believe me. Please, Alan, I need you to help me." Alan sighed.

"I guess I really have no reason to refuse," said Alan. He looked at Winry. "Mom, is this okay with you?"

"This sounds dangerous, Alan," said Winry. "And your asthma won't help you."

"I know, I know but," he looked at Kaylee. "I owe Joel this. I owe you this, Kaylee. I'll be careful and I'll keep in touch."

"Talk to Roy," said Winry.

"Mom-"

"Talk to Roy," Winry said more firmly. She stared sternly at Alan before he nodded.

"Alright. When do we leave, Kaylee?"

* * *

Hope you liked it. Sorry again about yesterday's mix-up.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The next morning, Alan and Kaylee were ready to go. Alan pulled on a navy blue trenchcoat and brown fingerless gloves. As he was about to step out the door, Winry stopped him. She fixed the collar of his coat.

"Got your inhaler?" she asked.

"Yep," answered Alan.

"Pack enough clothes?"

"Got everything in here," said Alan as he pulled on a brown backpack.

"You have enough money?"

"In my wallet."

"You remembered your inhaler, right?"

"Yes," said Alan as he pulled his inhaler out of his pocket. "Refilled it too." He put it back in his pocket and looked at his mother. The solemn expression on her face almost made him reconsider leaving.

"You be careful, understand?" she told him. "Don't do anything stupid."

"Yes, ma'am."

"And be sure to call whenever possible," said Winry.

"I will, Mom." He smiled at her. "Don't worry, Mom. I'm just going to make sure that this is just a rumor. I don't plan on getting into any brawls."

"I know just. . ." She pulled her son close and held him tight. "You're all I have left, you know? I don't what I'd do if my little boy died."

"I won't die," said Alan. Winry let go of him.

"You'd better not," she said. She kissed him on the forehead. "Now you better get going. Kaylee's waiting for you."

"Right," said Alan. He walked out the door and saw Kaylee waiting for him at the bottom of the steps.

"Are you ready to go?" asked Kaylee.

"Yeah," answered Alan. "Let's go." The two teens headed down the path to the train station. Winry watched them until they were out of sight.

* * *

Kaylee and Alan sat across from one another while they were on the train. Kaylee watched as Alan looked out the window. She was still getting used to how much older he looked. He was only sixteen but he looked eighteen at least. It was so weird. She remembered that impulsive yet kindhearted thirteen-year-old boy she used to hang out with all the time. She missed those days when it was just Alan, Joel, and her facing whatever life through at them together. She sighed.

"Problem?" asked Alan.

"What?" asked Kaylee surprised.

"Is something bugging you?"

"Oh. Just thinking," she said.

"About what?"

"Nothing," she said.

"Oh," said Alan. He leaned back in his seat. Man this was awkward. "So, um, what have you been up to lately?"

"Not much," answered Kaylee. "Just everyday stuff."

"How's your family?" asked Alan.

"They're fine. Uncle Alex has started dating." Alan raised a brow.

"He's found someone willing to put up with him?" asked Alan.

"We were surprised too," said Kaylee. "How have you been?"

"Okay, I guess," said Alan. "Took Mom and I a little time to readjust to country life but we got used to it. I've been helping Mom with her automail business."

"Do you ever miss Central?" she asked.

"Haven't thought about it too much," said Alan.

"Oh," said Kaylee disappointed. Alan quickly realized what he just said.

"Well. . .I mean just in general. There are still certain aspects I miss," he said.

"Like what?"

"Oh you know, um, certain people. The Hughes, Miss Sheska, Aunt Riza, *cough*you*cough*."

"What?"

"What?"

"Who was the last person you said?" asked Kaylee.

"What do you mean?" asked Alan. "I was coughing. Asthma remember?" He pulled out his inhaler and used it. Awkward moments made it really handy to be asthmatic. Kaylee sighed.

"So are you nervous about seeing the Fuhrer?" asked Kaylee.

"No," answered Alan.

"What? Why not?"

"We're going to Reole. I want to make sure this isn't Joel."

"But your Mom said-"

"I'm not going to talk to the Fuhrer if I don't have to," said Alan.

"Alan, you got to get what happened between you two sorted out," said Kaylee.

"No. He abandoned me first chance he got."

"Alan, you know that's not what happened."

"Whatever," said Alan. He looked out the window and stayed quiet for the rest of the trip.

* * *

Alan and Kaylee finally made it to Reole. Both were glad for the train tracks they built across the desert to the city.

"So where do we start?" asked Kaylee.

"I'm not sure," said Joel. "Let's just find someone and ask I guess." They walked into the city and found a church.

"Want to start here?" asked Kaylee. Joel shrugged.

"A good a place as any." The two went inside and were greeted by a woman with pink bangs.

"Hello there," greeted the woman. "My name is Rose. May I help you?"

"Hello, ma'am," greeted Kaylee. "We've heard rumors of some mysterious characters around here. Have you seen this man?" She handed Rose the picture.

"Oh, yes, my son took this a few days ago," said Rose.

"Could we speak to him?" asked Joel. Rose nodded.

"Alright. You should check the town square. He's usually there taking pictures or something."

"Thank you," said Kaylee. She and Alan left the church and headed to the town square. Alan saw a boy not much older than him with a camera.

"I think that's our guy," said Alan as he walked up to the boy. "Excuse me, are you Rose's son?" The boy gave them a confused look.

"Um, yes. My name's Curt. Can I help you?"

"We got this picture that you took," said Kaylee as she handed Curt the picture.

"Can you tell us where you took this?" asked Alan.

"It was a few days ago," said Curt. "I saw this guy kill someone in cold blood. I followed him and took the picture. I don't think the guy saw me. I can show you where I saw him."

"Thanks," said Alan.

* * *

Curt took Alan and Kaylee to a now vacant house.

"This is where I saw him," said Curt.

"Have there been any sightings of him since then?" asked Alan.

"No. Who is this guy anyway? Do you know him?"

"We're here to see if he has connections to someone we know."

"Can you be more specific?" asked Curt.

"No," Alan answered bluntly.

"I'm sorry, Curt," said Kaylee, "but this is personal. Thank you for your help."

"Sure," said Curt. "Tell me if you need anything else." Kaylee and Alan nodded and Curt walked away. Alan looked at Kaylee. She just stared at the house like she was lost in thought.

"Kaylee?" he asked. She looked at him.

"Hm?"

"Is something wrong?" Kaylee looked at the ground.

"He said Joel killed someone," said Kaylee. "Why would he do that? What's happened to him?"

"We don't even know if this is Joel," said Alan trying to reassure her. "It could just be some random stranger."

"Excuse me," said a voice behind them. The two turned around and saw and old lady.

"Can we help you ma'am?" asked Kaylee.

"The young man you're looking for," said the old woman. "I saw him."

"What?" asked Kaylee.

"Where?" asked Joel.

"Meet me back here later tonight," said the woman. "Too many prying ears during the day." Kaylee and Alan looked at each other than back at the woman.

"We'll be here," said Kaylee. The woman nodded then left.

"That was weird," said Alan.

"It was awfully convenient," said Kaylee.

"Yeah, it was."

"Should we not come?" asked Kaylee. Alan shook his head.

"No, this is the only lead we got," answered Alan. "We'll just need to be on our guard."

* * *

That evening a man wearing a black sleeveless hoodie sat on a rooftop looking over the city. On his right shoulder was an Ouroboros tattoo.

"It seems your recklessness has brought about unwanted attention." The hooded figure looked over his shoulder. A man in a black hooded trenchcoat was standing a few feet away.

"What do you mean?" asked the hooded figure.

"Alan Rockbell, the former apprentice of Fuhrer Mustang, and Kaylee Wilson have arrived in the city looking for some who looks like Miss Wilson's brother," explained other man. The hooded figure went back to looking over the city. "I told you to be more subtle when you kill someone, Wrath."

"Don't lecture me, Pride," said Wrath annoyed. "So do you want me to kill them then?"

"Envy is going to take care of them," said Pride. "Then she's going to finish covering our tracks."

"Why does she get to kill them?" asked Wrath.

"Because I can trust her to make it look like an accident or frame someone else for it," said Pride.

"Is there a reason you bothered telling me this?" asked Wrath.

"I knew word would get to you sooner or later," said Pride. "I want you to stay out of this."

"No way," said Wrath as he stood up and faced Pride. "I want to do it. They're my problem."

"No, they aren't," said Pride. "Stay away."

"Who's going to stop me?" asked Wrath. Suddenly, Pride was right in front of Wrath with a blade against his neck.

"If you try anything," warned Pride, "you will regret it." The two Homunculi stared each other down.

"Fine," said Wrath. Pride backed off and removed his sword from Wrath's neck. Wrath sat back down and stared at the city again. He clenched his fists. No way was he going to let Envy have all the fun.

* * *

That night, Alan and Kaylee found themselves back by the house.

"So where's the lady from before?" asked Kaylee.

"Don't know," answered Alan.

"Hello children," said a voice. Alan and Kaylee turned around and saw the old woman from before.

"Are you going to keep doing that?" asked Alan.

"I'm sorry," said the woman. "Did I startle you?"

"No, it's fine," said Kaylee. "Can you show us where you saw the boy earlier?"

"Yes," said the woman. "Follow me." She led the two into an alley. Immediately, Alan felt something was off. He reached into his pocket and slipped on an ignition cloth glove. Halfway down the alley, the woman stopped.

"Something wrong?" asked Kaylee.

"I'm sorry," said the woman. "But this is where your journey ends." She whipped around pulling out a gun. Alan countered by launching a fireball at her. The old woman dodged with surprising agility.

"Who are you?" shouted Alan.

"Perceptive brat aren't you?" asked the woman. She then transformed into a red-haired woman wearing black. Her eye had an image of an Ouroboros on it. Alan's eyes widened when he saw her.

"You!" he shouted. "The woman who killed Joel!" Kaylee gasped.

"But you're dead," said Kaylee.

"I was dead," said the woman. "In life I was always a prisoner. I always craved the freedom everyone else had. When I got it, Death became my new prison. Now I'm free again but this time I seek something else everyone else has."

"What's that?" asked Alan.

"Your humanity!" shouted the woman as she pulled out a second gun. "I am Envy! And I seek your humanity!" She fired two bullets. Alan was about to block when suddenly a hooded figure landed in front of Alan and blocked the bullets.

"Who are you?" asked Alan. The hooded figure looked at Alan and Kaylee and removed his hood. Kaylee gasped.

"Joel?" she asked. The man smiled.

"Call me Wrath."

* * *

Cliffhanger! Ha! Yes, I'm aware that the Ouroboros tattoos are different this time around but I have reasons for that. If you have any questions about it, feel free to ask.


	12. Chapter 12

Hey, I'm back! Sorry, this took so long but work leaves me worn out and I've been on vacation most of this week. I'm probably just going to update all my stories once or twice a month from now on most likely on weekends. Sorry for the long wait and thank your for your patience.

* * *

Chapter 12

Alan and Kaylee stared in shock at this creature calling himself Wrath.

"J-Joel?" asked Kaylee. Wrath sighed.

"Come on, I know you aren't stupid, Kaylee," said Wrath. "For all intents and purposes, I'm technically not Joel." He smiled evilly. "Well, not the one you knew anyway."

"What are you doing here, Wrath?" asked Envy. Wrath looked over his shoulder at her.

"I came to clean up my mess," said Wrath. "Just trying to help," he said feigning innocence.

"Oh, don't give me that crap," said Envy. "You're just looking for an excuse to kill someone."

"You know me too well, Envy," said Wrath.

"You were told to stay out of this," she reminded him. "Now get out of the way before I fill you with holes."

"Like you have a chance," said Wrath. He charged at Envy. She fired some shots off but they hardly fazed him. Wrath back fisted her sending her to flying to the opposite end of the alley. He turned his attention back at Alan and Kaylee. "Now, where were we?"

"Joel, please," begged Kaylee. "Stop this. Come with Alan and me. We can find someone to help you."

"Yeah, last time Alan tried to help me he made a Homunculus," said Wrath. "And I told you, I'm not Joel!" His eyes began to glow red, his hair became sharp like quills, he grew at least twice in size, and grew claws on the end of his fingers. "I. AM. WRATH!" He ran at Alan and Kaylee.

"Get down!" shouted Alan as he pushed Kaylee aside. He took a punch from Wrath sending him flying out of the alley. Wrath walked up slowly to him.

"Oh, come on," said Wrath. "At least make this fun." Alan stood up. He snapped his finger. Nothing happened. He looked at his glove and noticed the transmutation circle was torn.

"Crap!"

"Poor little alchemist," said Wrath as he made his way towards Alan. "No little circle to protect you." He grabbed Alan by the throat and held him up.

"Joel don't!" shouted Kaylee. Wrath looked over his shoulder annoyed.

"You're really that slow aren't you?" He threw Alan to the ground and headed towards Kaylee. Alan tried to stand up. His back and left shoulder hurt. He started coughing as his asthma kicked in.

"I don't have time for this," said Alan. As he saw Joel get closer to Kaylee, he remembered something his mom told him.

_"There was one benefit to Ed's attempt I guess," said Winry._

_"Oh?" asked Alan. "What's that?"_

_"Whenever he performed alchemy from then on all he had to do was clap his hands."_

_"Really?"_

_"Yep, I believe it had something to do with the body acting as the circle."_

_"Huh. Sounds handy."_

Alan coughed as he stood up. He had never tried transmutation by clapping, but there really wasn't much choice. He clapped his hands together and slammed them onto the ground. A stone wall appeared in front of Kaylee protecting her from Wrath.

"What?" asked Wrath. He looked back at Alan. "You know that won't stop me, right?"

"It wasn't meant to protect you from her," said Alan. "It was meant to protect her from his!" He clapped and snapped his fingers sending a large pillar of fire at Wrath. Wrath was engulfed in the flame as Kaylee ducked behind the wall for cover. As the smoke cleared, Alan could see Wrath walking towards him. The now much angrier Homunculi walked towards Alan patting the flames off his clothes as he did so.

"Was that really, the best you could do, Alan?" said Wrath.

"Enough!" shouted a new voice. A hooded figure dressed in black jumped down from the rooftops and landed between Alan and Wrath. The man looked at Wrath and pointed a sword in his direction. "You were told to stay out of this!"

"Like I would ever listen to you, Pride!" spat Wrath. Pride didn't answer as he looked over at Alan. "And as for you, your interference has gone on long enough." He rushed Alan with his sword drawn but Wrath tackled him to the ground.

"Let go, Wrath!" demanded Pride. Alan decided to take his chances and ran up to Kaylee, avoiding the two men fighting. He grabbed Kaylee's wrist.

"C'mon!" said Alan. Kaylee nodded as Alan started pulling her along. He gripped her wrist tightly. He'd die before he let another of his friends be killed. As they ran he looked over his shoulder and saw Wrath rip Pride's hood off revealing the face of someone he hoped to never see again. "Cross?" He shook it from his mind as he and Kaylee headed for the train station. He quickly paid for two tickets to Central. The two took their seats breathing heavily.

"You don't mind leaving your stuff behind do you?" asked Alan. He rubbed his chest. It felt like it was on fire.

"I doubt Joel and his friends would let us take the time to pack," said Kaylee.

"Yeah," said Joel with a slight smile. "I guess." Suddenly he started coughing as if he was about to hack up his only lung.

"Alan!" said Kaylee as she started to get out of her seat. Alan held up a hand to stop her and pulled his inhaler out of his pocket. He took a couple of puffs from it. He sat back in his chair as his breathing settled. Finally, the train took off. "Are you okay?" asked Kaylee moving to the seat next to him.

"I'm *cough* fine. Trust me *cough* okay?" Kaylee nodded. "What about you? Are you okay?" Kaylee's expression became solemn as she looked at the floor.

"I don't know," said Kaylee. "I can't believe my brother has become a killer. And what was with that tattoo on his shoulder?"

"I don't know," said Alan. "But I think it's time we head back to Central. I need to speak to our illustrious Fuhrer." Kaylee just nodded a bit. "Kaylee?" She looked at him with tears in her eyes.

"I can't tell you how much I wanted this to be a rumor," she said. "I hoped so much that it was just a mistake. That it was just someone who looked like Joel. But now. . ." She started sobbing.

"Hey," said Alan as he wiped her tears away with his thumb. "I'll fix this okay? One way or another I'm getting to the bottom of this." Kaylee nodded as she wiped the rest of her tears away with her sleeve.

"Thank you, Alan," she said. "But I'm not going to let you do this alone." Alan nodded. "By the way, who was the man under the hood?" Alan tensed up.

"Do you remember Caleb Cross? The man who killed the Fuhrer before Mustang?" Kaylee gasped.

"But you said the Fuhrer. . ."

"I know," said Alan. "I saw the body. And the Envy lady. I remember she committed suicide right in front of me but here she is again."

"What's going on?" asked Kaylee.

"Wish I knew," said Alan. "I wish I knew."

"GET. OFF!" shouted Pride as he knocked Wrath off of him. Wrath reverted back to his normal form.

"Where'd those two go?" asked Wrath as he looked around.

"They got away," said Envy as she approached the two rubbing her head.

"You didn't stop them!" shouted Wrath as he got in Envy's face.

"I would have if someone didn't knock me out cold!" shouted Envy as she pushed Wrath back.

"Enough of this," said Pride as he thrust his sword through Wrath's chest.

"AAAAUUUGGGHHH!" shouted Wrath.

"Stop whining," lectured Pride. "You know you'll heal." He twisted the blade causing Wrath to growl in pain. "I should kill you but unfortunately that isn't my call. But let me make this clear: if you interfere where you are not needed again, I will kill you regardless of what our leader says."

"You'd be dead before you drew your sword," threatened Wrath. Envy pointed one of her guns at his face.

"You want to bet you'd be any faster than one of my bullets?" she asked.

"This will have to wait," said Pride pulling his shword out of Wrath. "Do you know where they might go?" Pride asked Wrath.

"Knowing them?" answered Wrath as his wound healed. "Probably crawling back to Central to get Mustang's help."

"Then we best make our way there," said Pride. He started to walk off. "Your turn to pay for tickets."

"What?!" asked Wrath. Envy laughed as she walked past him. Wrath mumbled under his breath as he followed.

Alan and Kaylee stood outside the door to Mustang's office.

"Are you ready for this?" asked Kaylee.

"I have to be," answered Alan. He knocked on the door. A woman with dark brown hair answered it.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Who are you?" asked Alan.

"Rhonda West, secretary to Fuhrer Mustang," answered the woman. Alan looked at Kaylee who just shrugged.

"Where's Riza?" asked Kaylee.

"Maternity leave," answered Rhonda. Alan and Kaylee looked at each other in surprise. "Is there any reason why you children are here?"

Alan wanted to protest at being called a child but now wasn't the time. "I need to speak to the Fuhrer."

"Mhm. Do you have an appointment."

"Tell him Alan Rockbell needs to speak to him." Rhonda just looked at him.

"Give me a minute," she said as she walked into the office closing the door behind her. After a few moments the door opened. "He'll see you now." Alan nodded as he and Kaylee walked into the small secretary's office. There was another door leading to Mustang's office. She opened it for them letting the two walk in. It was a large room with a single desk in front of a window. Mustang sat at the desk looking at the two as they walked up to him.

"Been a while," said Mustang. "How can I help you?"

* * *

Reunited and it feels so. . .awkward. Anyway, sorry again about that long hiatus. I'll try to be better about that.


	13. Taking a break

So, I've decided to take a break from writing my stories for a while. Work is just too time consuming and leaves me worn out. Once school starts I'll have some more free time on my hands to do some writing. Sorry to keep you all waiting longer and I thank you for your patience. Sometime around September is when I hope to continue my stories. Until then I must wish you all a farewell. Thanks.


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